It's The Little Things That Get You
by Mr CJ
Summary: Because I'm a sick, twisted bastard and for no other reason. One shot.


**It's The Little Things That Get You  
**_By MrCJ (aka "Guessmyname")_

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Obligatory blah about me not owning NGE (hint: Gainax does) and all copyright and whatsits belong to their respective owners, etc

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Instrumentality.

Third Impact.

The culmination of near half a lifetime's worth of work, toil, plotting and ambition.

As the third Rei Ayanami began to soar upwards, glowing with incandescent power, he felt the urge to smirk.

Despite his naysayers, he had managed it.

Despite SEELE and their JSSDF pawns with their N2 mines, MP Evas and elite soldiers, he had managed it.

Despite his former lover, despite even his own _son_, he had_managed it!_

Foolish SEELE, even turning to the JSSDF in their desperation. He had Adam. He had Lilith. He even had them in the _same room_. He'd won: they couldn't hope to stop him now.

The urge to laugh manically also arose, but he quashed that one quickly. There was a fine line between deserved gloating and inviting Irony to make you his bitch.

Rei stopped rising.

He smiled, genuinely this time, the grin matching his eyes to make his entire face light up in sheer joy, causing the blue-haired albino several dozen metres up to suddenly understand the human concept of being disturbed.

This was it.

This was it, this was it, this was _it!_

He'd finally be able to see her again, after all those years.

His expression softened fondly. He'd finally be with her, just like old times. Her, the only person he could ever love.

His view began to sink towards the ground. His legs stopped feeling and a vague sense of weightlessness permeated his entire being. He did not need to look down to know that he was sinking into an growing expanding pool of LCL. He kept his smile even as he left his mortal shell and allowed his body to break down and dissolve.

As his head began to melt, he closed his eyes behind his glasses and thought of her. Her face, ever passionate and beautiful no matter the situation. Her brown hair, silky smooth and soft to the touch. Her lively eyes always brimming with care and intelligence.

_What do you think Yui? Our own private Third Impact._

_You can't deny that I love you now, can you? After everything I've had to go through to get here? To be with you again?_

_I even thwarted SEELE for you. Keel will rot on his metal throne._

His head 'submerged' beneath the surface of the pool. His felt his mind go free.

He soared and searched, enjoying the feeling of his new form, the freedom, the lucidity, the lack of a need for constant attention to that old meatsack of a shell that was ever in need of maintenance.

Content with his new existence, he began to search for her, chasing around the corners of his (their?) mind(s) like an ageless romantic running through a field to a lover's waiting arms.

Then he came screeching to a mental halt.

She wasn't here. He was alone. She wasn't here, why wasn't she here? She should be HERE!

Then Gendo Ikari stopped. Even his anger and desperation faded away as he realised the enormity of his mistake.

Several kilometres, bound by biomechanics, science and metal, encased with a shell that would decidedly _not_ explode into tang with so little as the end of the world and a nice hug, Yui Ikari's soul shook it's metaphysical head. The head of Unit One (much to the confusion of it's pilot) followed suit in disdain.

Fin.

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A/N: There's an alternative ending that involves a reference to "I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream", no points for guessing why.

This fic is born entirely from personal musings on what would happen if Gendo won rather than Keel. I was wondering if Yui would accept everything that Gendo did to get back to her (hint: probably not), when it occurred to me that Yui couldn't take part in Instrumentality: she's stuck in Unit One! Obviously, Gendo would have thought of this and presumably it wouldn't matter (not that anyone really has a clue what's going on during Third Impact anyway...), but it was a fun thought while it lasted.


End file.
